Edmonton·Video

Guide dog Sota ready to make a difference

Sota, a black Lab, is about to move into a new home and change someone’s life forever.

After two years and $40,000, black Lab graduates to full-fledged working guide dog this week

Guide dog Sota ready to make a difference

9 years ago
Duration 2:35
In honour of International Guide Dog Day, Maria Illes shows off Sota, a purebred black lab, in training to become a full fledged guide dog. He will graduate from the Dogs with Wings program this week to become a working guide dog.

Sota, a two-year-old black Lab, is about to move into a new home and change someone's life forever.  

This week Sota will begin giving his new owner independence, security, companionship and an instant connection with strangers.

"When you are blind and walk with a cane people don't talk to you, but when you walk with a dog people are more likely to engage in a conversation with you," says Maria Illes, director of training for Dogs with Wings, a charitable organization in Edmonton that is an international leader in assistance dog training schools.

Watch the video, produced by CBC's Rick Bremness, to learn about Sota's $40,000, two-year education program to become a working guide dog.